


Divine Danganronpa 2: Hope Pulses

by pinkhippoe (five_tarius)



Series: Fanganronpa (pinkhippoe) [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Execution, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Gen, Murder, Murder Mystery, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV First Person, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27046528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/five_tarius/pseuds/pinkhippoe
Summary: 16 Ultimates arrive at a private school, but instead end up in something much more worse; a killing game. A girl introduces herself as Mari and gives the Killing Game a start.
Series: Fanganronpa (pinkhippoe) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907794
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the first story, it's not reallly needed to know the story, but might make slightly more sense.

_Tsukiko Charter Academy For The Talented. Sounds promising and fancy, yeah? I thought so. With so many Ultimates trying to get an upper hand, I practically didn't stand a chance. Now, this is just a rumor, but I heard that if you're pretty unique, you have a better chance of being accepted into this top High School, the very one I'm heading to right now. Well, I'm not the best at expressing my emotions, but I want to get along with everyone else just fine. As I turn the corner, I get a good look at my new school. Randomly, my head began to fill with sharp pain and my vision faded.._

I fall onto the cold hard floor, the pain renewing again. I let out a groan, my head odd and fuzzy. I hoped that I didn't have a concussion, or amnesia, or both. Yes, I was Rui Umeji, the Ultimate Puppeteer. Immediately I hear footsteps, and a galaxy goth girl is standing over me, looking worried.

"Oh jeez, are you alright? Does your head hurt?"

"A little. I can get up by myself."

"Oh, okay." She looks up at me, studying me with her dark eyes. "Ah, well, I came searching for other people. There were 14 of us all in another room, but sixteen seats. I also haven't introduced myself. I'm Megumi Uchino, Ultimate Bassist. You?" She holds out her hand. I didn't shake it.

"Rui Umeji, Ultimate Puppeteer. Sorry- I can't really trust you or anyone, I'm just so confused."

She pulls her hand away, nodding before glancing around the room. I realize I'm in an empty train car.

"Do you wanna help me find the last person? If not, I can show you where everyone else is."

"It's fine, I can help."

"Great!" She steps out of the car and points to the train to the left. "You were in the last car, and I checked each one. There were at least about 3-4 people per train, but I didn't check that one over there."

"Then, we should check over there." I made my way to the subway train, sliding open the door and peeking inside. Immediately, I spotted some dude on the floor, eyes shut. He wasn't moving, but I could tell he was faintly breathing. His hair was sorta like the color of the sky when it rains, but bluish?

"Megumi, over here! There's a guy here."

"Oh, really? Lemme see." Megumi flung herself through the door, kneeling to the boy's side. She gently shook him. He awoke and sat up, holding his head.

"W-wh? Who.."

"Uhh, hi. We're some Ultimates. I'm Rui Umeji, this is Megumi Uchino."

"Yeah! I'm the Ultimate Bassist and he's the, uh.."

"I'm the Ultimate Puppeteer.."

"O-Oh, okay. Well I'm.. uh.. Akuun Sasayaki..." I could tell that this guy seemed to struggle with talking, like that he was scared of us. What I found most noticeable is that his sleeves were rolled up a little that showed bandages and that there was one covering his left eye. I wondered if both of his eyes were green. 

"Could you follow us? There's other people waiting for us, and we're the last 2 remaining."

"Okay.." He stood up shakily, nearly falling in the process. Megumi lead us to an area with metal folding chairs. I turned to Akuun.

"Hey um, you never told us your talent. I'm curious to know, but you don't need to answer."

He flinched.

"'I'm j-just-"

Someone snapped at us to sit down, so the three of us went to the nearest chairs. Before Akuun could talk again, a rolling chair slid down the isles of other chairs, stopping abruptly, confusing me. The chair spun once, twice, before a brown-haired girl about 13 with some weird wolf mask appeared in the chair and faced us, arms crossed.

"Hello, everyone," Her voice sounded tired but slightly excited. "I am Mari, the overseer of you all. This may be a shock to you, but you 16 students have been selected to participate in the 112th 'Killing Game'. What is a killing game, you ask? I'm more than happy to explain." She stood up, allowing the chair to tip and began to walk towards everyone.

"A killing game is when you're 'legally' allowed to kill here, but it has downsides. When three people find the body, time will pass until the class trial begins, where everyone else tries to find who killed who. If the innocents choose incorrectly, the blackened may leave and everyone else dies. If the blackened is chosen, only the blackened will die.

"You can explore the given environment as much as you like as long as you're following the rules. You can kill up to 2 people. You can't swim at night or sleep outside of your assigned area, or dispose of evidence by throwing it out of the killing game area. Violence against me or a camera isn't allowed. When it's 10PM, it will be called ‘NightTime’ until 7AM. Water and some places are closed until DayTime."

I didn't enjoy hearing of this. Mari told us to introduce ourselves until the killing game had begun, so I went to a boy with orange eyes and brown hair with black highlights.

"Oh, hey there!"

"Hello. I'm Rui Umeji, Ultimate Puppeteer."

"Ooh. I'm Shojiato Tsubasa. Call me Shoji, but I'm the Ultimate Vocaloider. Hope we get along!"

I don't have any photos of anyone or anything, so I'll have to explain what everyone looks like. Midori has dark green hair and green eyes.

"Good evening. You're Rui, yes?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Midori Hamano. I'm the Ultimate Seamstress." The next girl I met had blue and white hair, with gray eyes.

"Hello, hello! Heard that you're Rui. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too."

"I'm Shimada Watanabe, the Ultimate Live Streamer!" 

"Hello there, Mr. Rui."

"Ah, please don't be so formal, Rui is fine."

"I see. I'm Genji Yonemura. I'm the Ultimate Librarian." He had black hair and blue eyes. I approached a girl with silver hair and red eyes.

"..."

"..I'm Rui, who are you?"

"Emiho Edamitsu. The Ultimate Copycat. Please don't mistake me for an imposter." I noticed that she copied my speech patterns. I didn't mind. 

I realized this part would take long, so I'll go fast. The transfer student is Lizzy Fumika, Ultimate Ice Skater. Hotaru Miyamoto is a blonde girl and wears sunglasses, so I don't know her eye color. She's the Ultimate Harpist. Aishi Sakurai has pale pink hair and black eyes, she's the Ultimate Voice Actor. Yume Raiko has black hair and brown eyes and she's the Ultimate Psychologist. Shuzo Kaneda, the Ultimate Astrologist has brown hair and green eyes, Kuroda Tengoku has dark gray hair and reddish brown eyes, he's the Ultimate Paramedic. The Ultimate Freediver is Satoru Kodaka who has blue eyes and light brown hair. And finally, the black haired guy with purple eyes is the Ultimate Horror Novelist, who is Yoshido Chiba.

We were all forced onto a train, which had many cars. We each had a car with two floors, but most of us chose to keep the upstairs doors locked since there was a passageway that went all the way through the train. When all of us were gathered in one normal car, the train began to move. Akuun looked sick.

"You okay?"

"I.. barely g-go on trains.."

"Kuroda, shouldn't you help him?"

"He's not gonna throw up. He'll be fine."

I boredly gazed out of the window, and only saw darkness. I wonder if I could get away with murder.


	2. Lie Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first blackened, and the first class trial..

I was laid across the pillows in my room, before someone tapped my shoulder. Mari.

"Umeji, here is a motive for you. Do not show it to anyone else."

"What? A motive?" She was gone. I was left with a small screened device, so of course I was curious. I tapped the play button.

**☆RUI UMEJI'S MOTIVE☆**

The footage that came after that made me heavy with worry. I felt nauseous and really uneasy. This motive really did the trick. For at least two days, the thought of murder lingered in my mind. I had to cleanly finish someone off and make sure that the evidence is mostly covered up. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I decided to go for Akuun since he seems incredibly weak and easy to manipulate. For Plan B, I would kill Megumi. Before I could fully create a plan, Mari made an announcement that in 19 hours, we would all be killed unless a murder occured. Here was the basic plan: 

I would ask one of my 'friends' to let me at night out of fake fear, worried that I would be killed. I would use something blunt and heavy to strike them on the head, an instant concussion. I would have to find the nearest bathroom without being caught, and make it look like the scene was done there. The question is, where would I find the right weapon?

I wore a small backpack then made my way to the baggage car and found Shoji there.

"Mm? Oh, hello, Rui."

"Hello."

"What's with the backpack?"

"I honestly feel like that a murder's going to occur tonight. I want to keep myself safe with some materials. What are you here for?"

"I'm looking for something to read to keep myself busy."I could tell he wasn't planning a murder, so I can't frame him. When I realized that he was skimming through some books, I used my chance to grab the things I needed. A cinderblock, some rope and some bandages. The bandages? Just in case I need to frame a specific someone. I decided to wait around until is was close NightTime, resulting in the timer having 10 hours left. I made my way to Akuun's area. It looked like he wasn't there, so I started to head to Megumi. And with bad luck, I bumped into Akuun.

"Hello, Akuun."

"..H-Hi. Isn't.. y-your area.. north of here?"

"It is, but I'm going to go return something to Lizzy. Do you know what time it is?"

"Nine.. a-around nine fourty-five.."

"Thank you."

"..Okay.."

Little did he realize I was going to blame him for a murder. I saw Megumi in her area, so I went up to her.

"Oh, hey, Rui!"

"Hey. So.. it's nearing the time limit of when we're all gonna die, so I figured that I should probably hang out with someone."

"I get it! Hey, how 'bout we go upstairs? I have a TV and we can watch something to distract us."

"Sure." She had 3 beanbags, so she rested on one and turned on the TV. In the middle of a show, I began to reach for the weapon. 

"Megumi, could you turn the volume up a little?"

"Yeah." I pulled the block out of my bag and slammed it hard into the side of her head, the TV masking the sickening crack. Megumi said nothing. She turned to me and frowned.

"Why..?" She died right on the spot, her head bleeding. Her body was already cold. I soaked some of the bandages in her blood, tore it, and left it hanging out of the trashcan. 

I tied the rope to her torso.

**DING, RIING, DING!**

**"It is 10PM, indicating it is NightTime."**

I heard footsteps downstairs, and waited until they were gone. Peeking, I dragged Megumi down and to the nearest bathroom, pushing her head into the toilet and placing the cinderblock on her. The water was instantly dyed red. I took the towel, dampened it, and tried to clean the blood from the floor. Some of it had gotten in the rug, but it seemed fine. When I made my way back to my area, I bumped into Akuun yet again.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"..I could-.. ask you.. the s-same thing."

"Fair point."

"W-Why.. did you take so uh, long..? To return the.. thing..?"

"I couldn't find the right person." Akuun's eyes narrowed and he walked past me, frowning. Damn it, he's on to me. 

* * *

The next morning, while we ate, I almost forgot I killed Megumi.

"Where's Akuun and Megumi?" I faked being confused and looked around. Aishi sighed.

"I hope my Akuun didn't get killed." Shuzo also sighed.

"Akuun's completely terrified of you, since you act like that. I don't think that you should openly express your 'affection' towards him." Just as we were talking about where they went, Akuun appeared.

"Y-you guys.. Meg..Megumi.." He was crying and trembling slightly. "She..She's dead." I gasped.

"WHAT? Lead me to her." Everyone followed him and there Megumi was, just how I left her.

**DING, RIING, DING!**

**"A body has been discovered. A certain amount of time will pass until the class trial starts."**

Everyone decided to figure out how Megumi died after Mari handed us some kind of file about her death. I didn't open it because I knew everything. Akuun walked up to me.

"Do.. y-you want to.."

"Hm?"

"..Investigate?"

"Of course." I knew everything, but I didn't want to be suspicious. Akuun followed me to her body.

"It looks like she was drowned in the toilet by being held down by the cinderblock."

"I-It.. does.. doesn't seem so. S-She's bloody.."

"Mm.. well, she could've been knocked out. Look, the cinder block is bloodied."

"Hm..Maybe.." He grabbed my arm and pulled me outside of the bathroom, pointing to the carpet. "Stains."

"Ah, well, um, there's a lot of blood stains streaked and dried on the carpet. Maybe the murder took somewhere else."

"Y-yeah.." He flinched and let go of my arm, which I didn't realize he was still doing. "..Sorry...I'm going to.. in.. investigate by m-myself.. now.."

"That's fine." I pretended to inspect and find clues by myself, until Mari appeared.

"The time limit's up. I'll show you how we'll get to the class trial." She clapped her hands and the train stopped, the doors opening with a hiss.

"Please, use the doors on the left, since they're the only ones open."

Everyone stepped through the doors, and we were inside of some kind of room with 16 podiums. We were assigned to specific places. Mari took her place on a throne.

"There isn't a time limit for how long you take to find the killer, but if you take 5 hours, I might have to do something about it." The trial started just like that.

* * *

"..S-So.."

Surprisingly, Emiho didn't copy anyone and just sounded blank.

"The murder took place right before NightTime. We know that at least half of us were walking around." I needed to frame Akuun.

"I'm completely suspicious of a specific person, and I mean no offense. Akuun."

"W-WHAT?"

"I found bandages with blood inside the trashcan of Megumi's room, and found you walking around without reason. You could've used the rope to drag Megumi and dropped her off in the restroom. I did a full investigation and I found dried blood streaks leading from the carpet all the way to the bathroom, and you possibly had to throw away the bandages since the blood from the attack could've had gotten on you." Lizzy shrugged.

"So.. Akuun's the culprit? Can we vote now?"

"Yes. I think that Akuun broke the door in, knocked out Megumi around NightTime, dragged her to the bathroom and drowned her. It _has_ to be you, Akuun Sasaki, the Ultimate 'something'."

" _No, that's wrong!_ "

" _I don't agree!_ "

"..S-Shoji..? Ho..Hotaru?"

"I refuse to believe that Akuun here is actually the culprit! You kept pressing on, and didn't hear what he had to say!"

"Let him talk, please.."

"T-thank you.." Akuun cleared his throat. "I-I find it suspicious.. for you to instantly spring the blame on me for no reason. You didn't ask me what I was doing, and how exactly would I break down a steel door?" Hotaru began to help him out.

"You'd need a lot of force and it'd be loud."

"I was in the storage room with Shuzo and Kuroda in the afternoon yesterday. There aren't tools used to cut a door open, and metal against metal would be heard everywhere."

"..It's also not possible that Megumi was drowned, since the file says she was killed by severe blunt force trauma and not water."

"Oh, and to add to Akuun, I saw you grab the bandages, cinder block and rope out of the corner of my eye. I literally witnessed you grab the murder weapon. Can we vote now?" Lizzy shrugged, again.

"Okay, so now Rui's the culprit."

* * *

Although some were hesitant, I had the most votes.

"Dammit. I should've went and grabbed the things I needed with nobody around." I laughed, as we all moved away from the podiums, before simply shoving Akuun to the ground.

I fell hard on to my back as Rui seemed to change into someone insane. 

"I never really thought of you as a friend. I've been thinking about murder since the game has started, and you literally were a target." The words hit me hard and I felt sad. He was just going to use me. Mari's hand hovered over a huge red button.

"That was the fastest trial I've seen in killing game history, I congratulate you all. Mental note: the 122nd Killing Game has the current fastest class trial.

"Well, you all voted correct. Let's give it our all! It's…. Punishment time!" She pressed the button.

Rui stood in the center of everyone. Before a chain was wrapped around his neck and pulled him and out of sight. Appeared before us was a stage, and Rui fell, the chain still around his neck. He was spun before being raised up by the neck and was swung in different directions, desperately clawing to be freed. What we didn't expect was there to be suddenly a huge, faceless wooden marionette to lean down with the chain choking Rui. It raised its hand.. and crushed Rui instantly, killing him. The blood splattered everywhere, reaching onto our shoes.

I stood there, traumatized as we were suddenly back in the class trial room.

"W-what.." I broke down, on my knees. "He.. he hated m-me.." Everyone seemed just as devastated as we started to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Akuun doesn't stutter or trail off when he's dead serious or really mad.  
> -If Akuun had the most votes, everyone but the blackened would be put on the train, and then the train would start moving at high speeds. When the students realize it's going to crash into a mountain of spikes, Akuun and Hotaru break open one of the windows and jump out, breaking their necks, instantly dead. Shoji moves to the back of the train and roll off safely, but the caboose train's railing break and pierces his chest. The train slams into the sharp objects and kills some of the remaining students, and then the entire train combusts into flames.


	3. Death On Wheels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new motive, a new body.

I’m Akuun Sasaki. You already know who I am, sorta. I know that I seem like a crybaby, but I don’t really cry that much, unless I’m really angry or sad. I hope you can forgive me for my sensitiveness, my parents use me for despair and it’s sadistic. I don’t want to explain how, but just know that they don’t take me to the hospital. After that night of death, I remembered my talent. I have the most useless talent ever, and I’m the Ultimate Unlucky Student. I remember it all. The school felt bad for me and accepted me. In return, the school asked if they could learn about my experiences as my life as their student. I learned that this wasn't a lie, which was good. Nobody knew of my talent, but today I would reveal it.

Before we ate, I gathered as much courage as I tried, and stood up. At the exact same time, Hotaru also stood.

“You guys-”

“..I h-have...” Realizing I had interrupted Hotaru, I shook my head and sat. “You go f-first..”

“Thank you. This could result in me being the next victim, but..” She yanked off her sunglasses, revealing blue eyes that were clouded over. “I’m blind.” Everyone seemed supportive, but Aishi was being sorta rude, resulting in me glaring.

“Oooh, what’s wrong Akuun? Could it be that you’re-”

“Aishi, you should probably stop being so odd to him.” Lizzy sighed. “But how come you don’t have a guide dog? Or a cane?”

“I don’t really need one, Lizzy. Akuun, did you wanna say something?”

I nervously glanced around, standing while Hotaru sat, probably smiling towards me encouragingly.

“I… remember my, uh.. Talent. I’m.. the..” What if everyone stayed away from me? Oh, god. “U-Ultimate.. Unlucky.. Unlucky Student..”

“It might’ve not been what everyone was expecting, but I’m glad you remember your talent!”

“T-Thanks, Hotaru..”

Aishi gave Hotaru an angry look, which wasn’t returned, of course. Mari appeared before punches were thrown. She said something about a motive.

“You will be contained in one area with someone else, until blood is shed. The cars’ doors will be locked and there shouldn’t be any way to escape. You might just starve to death. Fair warning, we will be moved onto a separate train.”

I looked at the train in front of me. It looked like a prison with wheels. Unsupervised, we ended up messing around. I saw Yoshido climb onto the train, before Mari came and kicked him off.

Mari shoved me into one of the cars along with Hotaru.

“R-random question..”

“Hm? You can ask.”

“Do.. you uh, know..? What.. a train looks like?”

“I do! They’re usually long rectangles with a lot of seats or carry lots of things. They’re usually gray and have windows. I’ve also played with a few toy trains when I was younger.”

That's basically what a train is. I feel like that I’m not really explained enough, so I explained my past to her. Why my parents injure me for the sake of despair, the only friend of mine who was killed thanks to my luck, everything that built what I am.

“That sounds more than bad luck. So, you’ve been unable to make a friend after that?”

I kept myself from crying like an idiot, but I nodded. I explained that she was like a sister that I was never going to have. She seemed to completely understand whatever I was saying at this point, and wasn’t just nodding like a bobblehead.

“But uh, do you consider me as a friend?” I got nervous when she asked this. Did she think of me as a friend? If not, what if I answered wrong?

"..Yes.." 

She.. She smiled? She's fine with that? She's okay with me thinking of her as a friend? I.. I feel happy. Like, happy enough for me to smile, which I haven't done for some time.

My happiness almost seemed short-lived as hunger hit me. We didn't eat at all, so I was starving. Hotaru most likely felt the same way. Mari appeared and I managed to roll my eyes.

"..What is it."

"You're gonna starve. Take this." It looked like a small piece of bread. Reluctant, I ate it and Hotaru did the same thing. I felt no better, so we both agreed to sleep.

The next morning wasn't any better. We skipped through an entire day, and yet I couldn't stand up. Suddenly, my eyes were forced open and my vision swirled. I didn't understand what the hell was going on. I was no longer inside of the train. I was sitting in a dark area. Familiar voices whispered to me, calling me by my name. I could recognize one.

  * <□■. ~@×/-*. ■\\`[



My parents were looking down at me, like the worthless kid I will always be. But here I am, bleeding before them. They want me to kill. They always liked despair. If I-

My eyes open for real this time, and I'm alive. Hotaru turns to my general direction.

"Are you okay?"

"..What?"

"I had an insane nightmare and when I woke up, your eyes were all black and white and swirly."

"..."

I look down and see my arm bleeding. Did I hit it somewhere? I didn't even feel the pain.

**DING, RIING, DING!**

**"A body has been discovered. A certain amount of time will pass until the class trial starts."**

My eyes widened. Hotaru stood up.

"We need to find the body. Could you grab my sleeve or something? I don't know how many rooms there are." I took hold of her sleeve and walked, coming across Aishi.

"What.. are you two doing?"

"I can't go through the train myself."

"Did I ask?"

"Yes, you did. Please get your memory checked, it's worrying to me."

Aishi looked like she was going to attack her, so I pushed her away.

"Do you know where the body is, Aishi?"

"Yeah. It's up ahead, two carriages. Bye now!" I lead Hotaru through the open door and my mind.. wasn't prepared.

Midori Hamano was on the floor, with a blade pinning her to the wall and a couple of random slashes, some marking the wall. I let go of Hotaru. I felt sad, and I felt like crying again. Which I wasn't going to do, of course.

"I smell the blood.. who is this time?"

"M-Midori.. s-she was.. nice to me.." Midori never seemed to treat me like an idiot, and would smile at me, so I considered her nice. 

It was time to investigate. Mari appeared, handing me a file. Midori Hamano had died at 7:20 PM, and died from being stabbed in the neck. There was a broken window, with glass all over the floor. 

"..E-Excuse me, Mari... Am I-I..allowed...allowed to get on top o-of the train..?.."

"Yeah. I know who killed and how, so it doesn't matter." I hoisted myself onto the windowsill, fearing that I would get hurt. Satoru grabbed me.

"What are you doing, dude? You're gonna fall and get hurt!"

"I-I know I'm d-doing.."

"But you're the Ultimate Unlucky Student! What if you fall?"

"M-My.. luck n-never kills me.."

Satoru still grabbed me in case I did fall until I hoisted myself onto the roof. Along the roof of the train was a rope, with blood streaked along it. I followed it along and went through another broken window. This train had some kind of.. heater room? I found bits of burned cloth, with a slightly reddish tint, like dried blood. Before I could investigate further, Mari dragged me to the class trial area, where everyone else was. Bad luck.

I needed to seize my courage and speak clearly. I needed everyone to hear what I had to say if we wanted to live.

"We were all in a car together, 2 each so whoever was with Midori is considered suspicious. I was with Akuun." 

"Not really.  **All windows were broken** ."

"..No, that's wrong, Yume. O-Only a few windows were broken, being the room with some kind of furnace a-area, the car where Midori died, our car window, and one other..”

“It has to be mine, since it also had broken glass! I was with Yoshido.” Shimada grins, then points to him.

“Yes, I can confirm.”

“We need to find out who was with who, even if the person with Midori is innocent.” Instead of all of us having to talk, Mari simply handed me a list.

“Midori with Aishi, Shimada with Yoshido, Shoji with Shuzo, Yume with Kuroda, Emiho with Genji, Hotaru and me, and Lizzy with Satoru. Hey, Aishi..”

“Yeeeessss?”

“Did you see what happened to Midori? Like, did you see anyone?”

“Oh, my poor Akuun, I’m sorry! It was dark, so I didn’t notice until the lights flickered on!” I had to admit, Aishi sounded like she was lying. She was using her voice acting skills on me, wasn’t she? “I have to admit though, when you sound so dead serious, your voice makes me want to-”

“Y-You’re lying! Did you kill her?”

“Maybe?”

“Stop..”

“Oh, okay. I didn’t do it, but I wanted her death to seem more scary. You could guess who I was trying to frame, yeah? Who do you think I wanted to be blamed?” I thought back on when we were at the killing game train. Aishi always threatened and was purposely rude to..

“It’s Hotaru...”

“M-Me?!”

“Yes! That girl’s blind as a bat, so I wanted to spice it up! I didn’t put the rope, but it looked like she could’ve done it. There’s blood on your car’s glass and the rope is streaked with it. But me? I took the murder weapon and added a few random slashes, since Hotaru wouldn’t be able to see Midori correctly. But now that Akuun’s onto me, I can confirm Hotaru’s safe..”

“W-Why me? Is being nice a sin?”

“Nah.”

Shoji cleared his throat.

“Why was there blood in Akuun and Hotaru’s car? I’m not suspicious of you guys, but one corner iis streaked with blood up to the wall.”

“Akuun was bleeding intensely. Wait, Akuun, you never let me patch that up. Don't pass out on us." Kuroda wrapped my arm up with one of my spare bandages.

"Why was he bleeding? I'm not trying to frame you, but still."

"I...I don't know. I barely noticed."

"Remember that Akuun was in the same car as me, Shoji. The window isn't broken and the door was bolted tight. I would've heard a shatter or something. My hearing is my best sense."

  
  


“I think that the blackened tried to frame me, if anything," Yoshido completely erased the topic. "I kept a small knife I found on the first train we were on to defend myself, and it was on Midori when the lights were back on.” I found Yoshido suspicious.

“But, wouldn’t that mean that only Shimada, Aishi, Hotaru and I would have done it? I’ve already cleared Hotaru, and you would’ve seen or heard Shimada break the window. And, Aishi admitted she only tampered with the murder to make Hotaru seem guilty."

"For what reason?"

"Oh, it's simple. She doesn't want Hotaru near me, right?" Aishi blushed and nodded, disturbing me more. I shouldn't talk bad about my peers, but I'm really scared and disturbed by her. "Anyways, what's with rope along the train? And, how did the killer even break open the window?" Genji shrugged.

"Probably with a fist.  **The glass looks like it can be broken with a few punches** ."

"No, that's wrong. My window was broken, remember? I didn't hear anything except just a shatter. There wasn't cracking or anything."

"Oh? Then.. someone could have kicked it. Your legs are way stronger than your arms. Trust me, I'm an ice skater."

"Then, that clears it up. But, what I find interesting is.. Yoshido, weren't you wearing your uniform jacket when we were at the train?"

Everything fell apart when Yoshido laughed.

"Okay, okay, okay. I admit it. I..  _ enjoyed _ killing Midori! I've always written about dark things, so of course I wanted to try it out! I have so many regrets right now, so I just wanna die."

"..But, h-how did you do it..?"

"Simple! My head gave me ideas! I always have many equipped with me and when I started having these weird-ass visions, I formed a-"

"..Yoshido."

"Sorry. Anyways, Shimada fainted from hyperventilating after it got dark, so I smashed the window and used the rope to guide me to someone. Originally, I put the rope on the roof so that I could hold onto something, but it still worked as a guide. I broke a couple windows to confuse everyone. I killed Midori before she could react, got blood, but luckily my jacket was zipped up all the way. I burned it up in the weird furnace room in the back, and returned. Not sure why Shimada didn't question the fact of why I didn't have my jacket."

"I'm airheaded!"

"Uh, well, I..uh, t-thanks for telling us.. I just.." I shook my head. "I c-can't forgive.. those who..kill."

Yoshido Chiba, the Ultimate Horror Novelist, had the most votes.

"Well, you all voted correct. Let's give it our all! It's…. Punishment time!"

Yoshido followed a path through odd trees covered in thick spiderwebs. Progressively, the webs got thicker and thicker, but Mari kept forcing him to go on. Eventually, a huge, lanky, and mechanical spider tore through a thick web and made an ear-splitting and unnatural sounds, black and red eyes glowing with murderous intent. A long leg with a blade attached swung toward, a wound fresh on his chest. Yoshido backed away but didn't seem to run, although his retreat was out of pure human instinct; survival. The spider lunged at him and began to torture him slowly, keeping him down before cutting him up and leaving, letting his friends stare at his remains in horror.

I shook in pure terror as what had happened before me. Yoshido Chiba had snapped at the very end..


	4. Our Train Of Thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3, you know what that means! 3 deaths!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I sorta recommend you read Piercing Light for some info on things.  
> -Kori Tsubasa is slightly taller than Akuun because Akuun is really close to hitting average height.
> 
> -If you're seeing this, then that means that I'm having severe writer's block and chipping away at chapters. I don't know what to do for the next murder.

As the night passed on, I found myself cycling through my emotions. I'm starting to stop getting so emotional over deaths. I extremely fear death and pain, but I don't cry anymore. And yes, we were back on the first train. As I listened to the quiet clattering of wheels on tracks, I could hear a faint sound. There were more, and I found myself sliding out of bed to investigate. I followed the odd strings of sounds through the train, before finding Genji, Hotaru and Emiho sitting together in one car, with a harp.

"Who is it?"

"It's just Akuun. Hello."

"..Genji.. Hi." 

"H-Hi, Akuun… Genji, Hotaru a-and I are just.. hanging out.."

"..A-Are you mocking me..?!

"No, I am sorry. Remember, I'm the Ultimate Copycat. I felt inclined to copy your way of speech because I've never heard someone speak like you."

Genji stood up and stretched.

"Mm, sorry I couldn't talk to you, Akuun, but it's probably time for me to go and sleep."

"I u-understand.."

"Oh, Akuun. Would you like to hear me play the harp? I'm really good!"

"You are the Ultimate Harpist, so I think that both me and Akuun would love to hear it!"

"Y-Yeah.."

Truthfully, I never knew what a harp sounded like, but when Hotaru played, it was like she was like some kind of magician. We were interrupted by a door being clumsily opened.

"AND LIZZY MAKES HER ENTRANCE!"

"Oh, Lizzy Fumika?"

"You got that right, I'm the only Lizzy and the only Fumika on this train, and you better not forget."

"Hey, hey, Lizzy! Akuun and I were listening to Hotaru play."

"Well-"

A loud beeping noise was ringing across the car. Until I realized it sounded like it was counting down.

_ Three, two, one.. _

Out of nowhere, dozens of arrows flew at us. As soon as I saw the projectiles, I put myself in front of Hotaru and took arrows to the chest, my shirt stained with red. I saw Lizzy on the ground, somehow still living.

"Ghhh! I'm still a-alive.. RUN, GO!" I didn't need to be told twice and with adrenaline still coursing through me, I grabbed Hotaru's  _ hand _ and sprinted, to Kuroda's room. I released Hotaru and knocked on his door, breathing heavily.

"Oh, Akuun- Holy shit."

"..I l-left her behind.."

My mind blanked and I found myself alive.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod IT WORKED!"

"W-Wh..?"

"DUDE, YOU'RE ALIVE!" Kuroda shook me.

"W-What.. happened?"

"I tried to treat you and it wasn't working, so I begged Mari to help and she finally gave in. Oh, and Hotaru is fine. She had some wounds, but none were deep."

"..Good."

"You like her?" Kuroda smirked, but I could tell he wasn't going to press on.

"W-what happened to.. to Lizzy?" He frowned and gestured for me to stand up. Shakily, I followed him to where she was, in a pool of her own blood. I felt guilt.

"..M-My fault.."

Genji approached us.

"Why do you think it's your fault?"

"She.. told m-me to run and.."

"And you did what she told you what to do, which was what she wanted."

“I-I couldn’t stay conscious..”

“You were bleeding, my guy.”

“Hey, Akuun, how come you’re called the Ultimate Unlucky Student? The fact you lived is pretty lucky to me.”

“..My talent works in.. two different w-ways..” I took a deep breath. I was slightly tired of explaining this, since I had to explain this multiple times while talking to the staff and students at my old school, and the staff at my new school. “I-I’m not the Ultimate The Most Unluckiest Student o-or.. Something l-like that.” I began to push all of my focus on speaking. “Most of the time my luck affects everyone, including me. I'm lucky enough to be able to survive so much pain. Sometimes, like around my birthday I’ll have plenty of good luck.”   
  


And, with my luck. Aishi came gliding in.

“OH MY GAWD! He sounds super hot when he’s super focused on talking correctly. Remind me to take my phone out so I can record-”

“L-Leave me alone..”

“Mm, nah! Sorry!” I walked away, wanting nothing more than to investigate myself.

If I remember correctly, the arrows came from this direction, but how? Shoved under one of the seats was some kind of contraption, which looked like it was made by a kid, and would be well-hidden at night. There wasn’t a timer or any wires or buttons to activate it, nor there were sensors. It was just a box with holes inside of it.

“Genji.. do y-you think it’ll be..be fine if... I try t-to open this..?”

“Mari or the others might get upset, so I think that’s a bad idea.”

“Oh..”

I made my way into the baggage car, which served as a storage area. I encountered Shoji and Yume.

“Oh, hey, Akkun! Me and Yume were just seeing if the killer used something from here. So far, we found a book that teaches you how to build specific things, but there's no other books here." 

"We shall let you know when we find something." I nodded and swiftly left. For now, I had my suspicions on Kuroda, despite the fact I considered him nice. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any more evidence. The train stopped, the doors opened and we were all piled into the trial room. Mari started us off.

"Might I state that the third time's the charm."

"W-What.. What does that mean?"

"It means she probably expects this trial to be a kicker, I guess." Satoru shrugged. 

"..Wait. Mari, you never gave me a file."

"I never did? My apologies. Here." Mari threw the file as hard as she could at my face, but I caught it instantly. Lizzy Fumika had died from bleeding out due to the arrows, and just a little past midnight, meaning that she died around the time I left her on the floor. 

"Hmhmmhm.. S-So, I assume that you guys suspect either Hotaru or me."

Genji sighed.

"Unfortunately I think so. You two were the only ones that were near her at the time, so you either could be working together and lied. For example, Akuun,  **you could've faked getting shot.** "

"No, that's wrong. I.. think that either Mari o-or Kuroda can confirm that I did get injured.."

"Yep, it's really lucky that you lived, and that nothing tore your lungs open."

Genji looked like he was slapped. He huffed and began to think again.

"Well, I broke open the thing that launched arrows, and I found some sort of.. receiver."

"..W-Wait…"

"Huh?"

"You d-didn't let me open it, so.. nobody could see what's inside. Why..?"

"Anyways.."

"You're a-avoiding my question..!"

"I found a matching remote just barely sticking out of Akuun's door. What do you have to say?"

Once again, I was being framed. I felt everyone's eyes on me. How will I prove I'm not the killer here? I'm already suspicious enough. There's only one thing for me to say.

"..What time did you find it..?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because.." I glanced around the room. "..Anyone could've placed it a-at anytime. You, for example.."

"Me? Akuun, I thought we were friends!"

"..I thought the same for Rui, but..?"

"Don't compare me to that.. THAT SOCIOPATH!"

"..C-Could you answer my question?"

"Fine. A few minutes after you woke up."

Shuzo lifted his hand.

"That's funny, I was the third to find Lizzy's body, along with Hotaru and Shimada. I immediately ran off to investigate, starting with the rooms to the left, and I even drew a little map to show where I looked around." Shuzo held a paper.

"Mmm.. Mhm. Lizzy's uh, body.. was around the passenger cars, so you would have to go with the boys first. Because.. the girls' rooms are closer to the front of the train, while ours are.."

"Ooh! I know!" Shoji grinned. "Ours are at the back! And, it goes by alphabetical order by first names, like on Shuzo's paper."

"Might I add along to this. Remember, Akuun. We were searching to see how the killer could have pulled it off, and found a book unlike the others. The books stored in the storage cart are about fantasies, horror and other fictional topics. Who else can obtain books with ease?"

"..And since Yoshido is.. gone, we can conclude that-"

"These are just a bunch of fuckin' concidences and wild guesses! How can you even confirm that I really did kill her?"

"I-I was the last one to discover the body, but when Kuroda and I talked, you came BEHIND us. Everyone was standing in front of Lizzy. You could've snuck upstairs and slipped the remote."

"Ugh! I'll make you understand, even if it means that this trial is ruined! Everyone's lives are on the line, we are NOT going to get killed because of your mistakes!"

Word after word, my throat suffered an argument. It escalated from talking in an angry tone to snapping at each other, but Genji was yelling at me now.

"S-So..! What happened was, as soon as you saw me enter, you realized that you wouldn't be able to kill two birds with one stone with a trap you had set up, probably days before using a guide. You took the guide you used to create the contraption and threw on the floor properly, in order to make it seem like something unlucky that would happen to me. You left and activated the remote in hopes of murdering someone, while leaving someone injured - Hotaru and I in this case - to make them seem like a prime suspect. After finding out I was still alive, you snuck somewhere around my door and wedged the remote underneath, before returning to the group. Genji Yonemura, I think it's you."

Genji froze up like he was going to cuss me out, but he relaxed, closing his eyes.

"Okay, I admit."

"..I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Something drove me to see blood splatter. I feel like it's insanity. If so, I just have a message. You all should trust and care for each other." As the trial concluded and when the voting finished, we all surrounded Genji. Yume started to tear up.

"Wait, wait! Genji, please don't go, I-I.." She ran over and whispered to him, very quietly. His eyes widened, but he nodded and smiled. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for his death.

"GENJI, PLEASE, DON'T!"

"Congratulations. You all voted correctly, once more! Let's give it our all! It's…. Punishment time!"

Genji sat in the center of the clock, the hands ticking and moving. As the short hand passed the hours, the clock started shaking violently, and suddenly the clock tipped, letting Genji fall. Yume dashed forward and lunged, grabbing his arm. Genji shook his head, since he didn't want Yume to get hurt. Suddenly, a hand of the blade accidentally cut Yume in the chest, making her bleed. She lost her grip and fell with Genji, before splattering onto metal spikes. Genji Yonemura and Yume Raiko were dead and gone.

Mari snarled in annoyance. The rules stated that only the blackened alone will be executed, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I know that the blackened of chapter 3 say things like 'forgive me forgive me' or 'APOLOGIZE APOLOGIZE', byt it seemed.. cliche.  
> -The reasons why 'BREAK!' or 'HANGMANS GAMBIT' isn't included because this is a fanfiction, not a game or animation.


	5. Chugga, Chugga, Truth, Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A murder on the train, without a motive, again. Mari is pleased and proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Akuun's not really stuttering when he speaks in small sentences casually.

..It's daytime.

I want this to stop. It's been nearly a week since someone died. And it'll keep happening. Mari had reminded me that this game can stop fully if only two people are left. But, it's just more for me to suffer through.

I don't like pain. Physical, emotional, all kinds.

I don't like blood. I've seen too much even before this game started, and now I wake up shaking and with tears pricking in my eyes. It's probably what they want from me, whoever are the ones that have trapped us here. ..But, I should head to where everyone else should be.

"...G-Good morning..."

"Hey, hey!"

"Morning."

"...Good morning."

"It's rude to copy someone, but hey Akuun!"

"Hello!"

"Nice to see that you're well-rested!"

"Good morning to you too."

"Heehee, looks like someone's feeling better today."

Everyone was still cheery, and so trusting of each other. I couldn't blame them, I felt attached to everyone -well, Aishi is debatable.- and trusted them just as much. But despite my smiling, I felt a sense of suspicion, maybe dread.

A flash, then suddenly Mari was dragging me by my neck. My hands were tied behind my back and I was screaming words over and over.

"Please, I don't want to, please," I couldn't stop myself. "I don't want to be there, please!' Still struggling and kicking, I was shoved into a cramped space and then complete darkness. 

I have a fear of being in tight spaces and pitch blackness, and I'm in both currently.

Just by thinking, I could feel the worst of my memories reawakening. I can almost feel the pain, my tears, and my cries. I'm so familiar with what despair feels like, and yet, I'm not succumbed.

Why am I like this? Why do I have such a small twinge of hope inside of me, that's never shrunk or grown? I don't understand at all.

I spend hours hyperventilating and sinking further into my mental wounds. I don't remember how much longer has passed, but I hear a distant jingle.

There's two things that could be happening; it's the night announcement, or someone has been.. murdered. I wouldn't be surprised, at this rate. It's just going to continue.

I'm thrown out of my thoughts as someone opens the door to the tiny dark hell I'm trapped in. It's Shimada.

"Jesus, she kept you locked up in here?" I simply nod, and step out. "..You're scared of being locked up?" She motions for me to follow with her.

"..Mhm."

"Why?" I say nothing, and blink, then blink again. "Did something happen to you as a kid?"

"Mhm."

I was going to start explaining, but Shimada gasped.

"Super sorry, but I came to get you. There was a.. body discovery a bit back, and you need to see." We sprinted to the car closest to the cab, and the sight that placed itself in front of me..

Was horrible.

The Ultimate Astrologist was dead, and gone.

I was given the file.

Shuzo Kaneda was killed at.. sometime in the afternoon. It didn't describe when, or how he died.

"I-It's.. vague.." Mari shrugged it. "How a-are we supposed to uh.. figure it out?" Mari shrugged. "Y-You're the one who wrote it, and t-there's cameras everywhere, so wouldn't you k-know?..!" Before Mari could finish shrugging, I moved away.

Let's see.. Shuzo was on his back, little blood anywhere. What could've-

"Hey, Akuun," I flinched, and Kuroda stood by my side. "I'm gonna check and see how he died. Go and try to find other evidence, okay?" 

I nodded, and found Shoji in the storage, again.

"Aaaand, here we have the one, the only Shoji-Who-Keeps-Appearing-Here-Tsubasa!"

"What..?"

"Ah, um, nevermind. You probably wonder why I'm here all the time, huh?"

"Sorta."

"Well, you can always find something from here! I never really told anyone about this, but I'm really sure you're gonna kill, so, here's a secret. Don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"I… I won't."

"Since the day we were told that this is a killing game and were put on this train, I realized that most people would take things from the storage room. So, I went to the storage room and took a photo by using one of the cameras here, and hid it in my room."

"..T-That's pretty clever.."

“Hell yeah it is. And I took pictures after each death, too. So now I'm just comparing the latest photo."

"..Uh.. The pipe. It's completely.."

"Yeah, it's frickin' covered with blood. This has to be the murder weapon!"

"..There's not really any other choice."

"Oh, yeah there is. The killer could've just disposed of the evidence. But not just by throwing it off the train, of course."

"Why not?"

"Oooh, Mari probably didn't tell you, huh? Bad luck. Anyways, Mari said it was now restricted to dispose of evidence by tossing it off the train, because we wouldn't even know where to start, at all."

"Makes sense."

The train suddenly halted to a stop. It was time for the class trial already? We both headed towards the door and rushed to step inside the trial room. Mari was already beginning to speak.

"Y'know, I'm veeeery upset at you all. The answer isn't obvious, so listen up!

"Yume died from an execution that wasn't for her. I'm so angry! The rule was broken, so as punishment.."

A sudden burst of.. something -probably annoyance- ran through me. It felt weird to me to be feeling aggressive towards someone, when it's usually the other way around.

"We didn't do anything, in fact, you did the execution yourself, you could've stopped it at any moment but y-you never stepped in..!"

"Okay, true. But I'm the one who makes the rules here, so I'm making the clues vague and not telling you anymore than that Shuzo was whacked by that pipe Shoji and Akuun found. Start it up!"

"M-mm.. well.. We need to find out why Shuzo isn't bleeding?"

"Oh," Kuroda answered, "I don't really like to examine bodies because it freaks me out, but eh. On the inside of Shuzo's jacket sleeve is a piece of bloody tape. Maybe that was used?"

"Hey, Akuun, I know something," Aishi was trying to distract me, again. "You wanna know? Don't ignore me!"

"Fine!"

"Okaaayyy, so, Shuzo died while you were still crying and screaming!"

"Be specific."

"Okaaaaaay! Shuzo died when you were locked up, and Mari did that because..! Out of all of us, you're the most weak-minded and frail and vulnerable, so she punished you for Yume's death to make her feel better!"

"..."

"Ohh, you wanted me to explain when Shuzo died, okay! Well, I know for sure that it was early afternoon, Akuun still shaking and crying. I heard the solid crack of a skull being shattered."

"Then.. we need to know where everyone was, maybe..?"

Satoru went first.

"Well, I was sitting on the steps to the upper floor of the train, and saw Aishi go upstairs and downstairs a few times, no reason given."

"Well- you never asked!"

"Yeah, I did. When I asked you if something was wrong because you looked troubled, you kept walking."

"I didn't hear!"

"Why? What was on your mind?"

"H-Hey! We're not getting closer to the end of the trial! Anyways, I don't have an alibi, since I was forced into that.. cabinet."

"Alright, Akuun has a pass. Nobody saw him leave since it was locked tightly. Hotaru?"

"Oh! Shimada and I were together even after breakfast at the place where we all were this morning. I did see Emiho in a hurry."

"I realized I forgot to lock my door, so I passed Shoji."

"Can confirm! And since Emiho's area is around the middle of the train, it only makes sense to have to speed-walk since the car where we eat is at the very back."

At the moment, Aishi was the most suspicious to me.

"Well.. Aishi, what were you doing..?"

"Hm? I was going to my area, since my name starts with an A."

"..Could someone remind me of the layout of the train?" Shoji grinned.

"Gladly! 8 places for students are on the second floor, and the same for the first, each pretty close to the front of the train. The back of the first floor contains the place where we eat, and at the back of the second floor has a room that acts as a storage room."

"A-Aishi, why did you keep going back and forth?"

"A-Ahh! Finally, the boy of my dreams acknowledges me and is making his moves!~"

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"Mmm~ not really any of your business. I needed some tape to.."

"To stop Shuzo's blood from spilling everywhere?"

"Yea-"

I had caught the murderer.

"HOLY SHIT, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! I'M NOT JOKING, IT WASN'T ME!"

"Y-You gave yourself away. Already.."

"Damn, reverse psychology. Guess luck is on your side, huh? If you say something I want you to say to me, I'll fully admit how I did this."

Oh, no. I knew what Aishi wanted me to say.

Uh, just assume it was just something casual. I didn't say it out loud, however. I would flop into the grave right now.

"So.. you.."

I took in a sharp breath and explained the killer's plan out loud for everyone.

"You invited Shuzo to your room because you 'needed help opening something' after I was dragged away to be 'punished for Yume's accidental death', and briefly left him inside to grab the metal pipe, Satoru witnessing you going up and down the stairs, the pipe hidden from view. You swung the pipe and with a crack Shuzo died. To avoid suspicion, you checked to see if anyone was outside. Seeing Shoji, you locked your door to pass the time and discarded your bloodied clothes, before leaving and going back up to put the pipe back and to stop the blood from spilling your room.

"Returning, you taped the injury to stop more blood, and cleaned it all up with his jacket. You checked again, and Shoji was still around. So, you waited until the afternoon, and tossed the body out, making sure it looked like it didn't come from your room. 

"This amount of patience and murder only leads up to you, Aishi Sakurai, the Ultimate Voice Actor. You're the killer!"

Mari clapped slowly, and sarcastically.

"Really cheesed that one, huh. Anyways, like usual, use the buttons on the side of your podiums to vote!"

Of course, I voted for Aishi.

"Time's up! Let's see.."

7 votes for Aishi, and 1 for Shuzo.

"Alright, you all voted correctly. Give yourselves a slap on the shoulder."

The only thing breaking our silence was Aishi who was making awkward pleased noises.

"Well, I've created a special punishment for the Ultimate Voice Actor. Let's give it our all! It's…. Punishment time!"

For some reason, I had a flashback to when I thought Rui was my friend, and his execution. Aishi was placed on a playground, surrounded by people with masks with the same design as Mari's. They started mocking her with different voices. They sounded like mine, and my classmates, along with her's. She kneeled in the sand, curling up, already defeated. The sand started falling, and she stood in front of a lever, with words above it that said

'PRESS TO BE SAVED'.

Reluctantly, she pulled it, and the sign changed. Aishi turned around, and a piano fell on her, blood splattering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Alternate title: akuun wants to die thanks to aishi


	6. Ding, Dong, Merrily The Kills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiho has called a meeting. She thinks she found the mastermind.

Oh, another day in this hell. I slept past the announcement. I can't remember how long I've been asleep. I can't remember how long I've been here. Must be my 'incredible' luck, right?

I swing my legs up to sit on my bed, but I find myself somewhat weakened. I feel like I've been locked up and haven't had a chance to eat in a while. I guess it's time to get something to eat. 

I force myself to stand up and leave my room, but suddenly the room filled with.. mist? Whatever it was, it made my head throb and I felt like I was gonna pass out. What was going on? I tried to pull myself together, but..

My eyes opened and I was leaning on a podium, in the class trial room. I didn't understand why.

"Oh, good it worked. Rise and shine students, blank girl Emiho Edamitsu has called a class trial!"

"Blank? Stop. I'm not blank."

"..E-Emiho? Why'd you call..? A meeting?"

"Akuun, could you take off that bandage that's been covering your eye?"

"Hm..? Well, i-it's not that much of a problem.." Nobody pointed it out, but I realized that I didn't talk so shakily as before. I pull and unwrap the bandage around my eye. Nobody stares, much to my mercy. My left eye has sectoral heterochromia. I got hit in a bad area, which caused my eye to bleed, and now a weird orangish patch is on it.

"Can you see out of it?"

"..Yeah. Why?"

"..It's irrelevant to the trial. I was just curious."

"Oh.."

"Really sorry for the distraction. Anyways, I've called a serious class trial. I've found out somewhere here, standing at the podiums, is the one behind this 'killing game'. The mastermind."

"Who?"

"I'll rephrase, actually. I have a few people who I find really suspicious. I'm becoming my own person now. Call me the Ultimate Friend now or the Ultimate Copycat later, but I'm gonna do this!"

This was the most emotion I've heard from her, and she wasn't wasn't using someone else's energy.

"Wouldn't it be better to stay as.. the Ultimate Copycat?"

"Hotaru?"

"You can use your findings and your discoveries to make yourself a better person. You can be any type of person, you want, a good one! Just because people in your past used you for fun doesn't mean that you're done for!"

"Hotaru, I completely thank you for that, but, it's time for this trial to really start. Akuun, you've been leading this all along, may I have the honors?"

"I trust you."

"Okay. The people I find most suspicious is.. Shimada, Kuroda, Satoru and..." She looked at me, in a 'I'm sorry, I think it's you' way.

"It's.. me too, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"But.."

"Look. I know you're scared, and I am too. To see one of our friends among us be the one. I'll make sure that we can sort this out."

"Take the lead."

"Early in the morning, I woke up because I heard an odd creaking noise. I went to investigate because I couldn't sleep. Shoji, of course, was in the storage room reading."

To back up the claim of Shoji being innocent, Kuroda said:

"There isn't anything that would make a noise so loud that Emiho would hear it. He's safe."

What would create a noise extremely loud enough for me to hear, through my area and nobody else? 

"Have you guys.." Satoru's voice was a little mysterious. "..Ever visited Rui's room?"

"No."

"Never."

"Nope."

"I didn't know how to get in..

"Truthfully, I didn't know where his was."

"Satoru, what'd you see?"

"A.. lot of marionettes. Really disturbing. Wooden ones. One of them reminded me of his execution. The loud one then strangled and killed him. I feel like you saw more after the noise."

"I saw a figure, a little taller than me. Shimada, Kuroda, Satoru and Akuun are all taller."

"H-hey..! I didn't do anything! I-It's not me, please!"

"I'm not that much taller!"

"Why me?"

" **I'm not the mastermind!** "

What would be a simple trial, turned into mass panic. But wait-  _ huh _ ?

"YOU GUYS!"

Satoru..

"It's not Akuun, Shimada, nor is it Kuroda. I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -sorry, i have a disease called procrastination. it's chronic and i don't think there's a cure yet.  
> -happy holidays.


	7. Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates and the low-quality writing. I'm starting to take creative writing classes to get better.

Both guilt and relief washed over me. I was proven innocent, but now Satoru was put on the spotlight.

"...W-What? Satoru?"

"I.. I'm the mastermind. I'm in control of the game here. But.. it's not just me, it's.."

Mari stood in his place and pushed him away.

"Yes. You have guessed right. Now-" Satoru lightly nudges her away.

"Let me talk. You guys don't understand why you're here, right?"

"Nope.. none of us know."

"Just what I thought. I'm sorry I didn't give you enough time to see the truth, but let's explain how this train was started.

"The talent exchange program, hosted by the headmistress of Tsukiko Charter Academy, Michiko Yashino. It was exactly at the very first day of school. Everyone of our class had a talent they no longer had interest in, or didn't like it. In your interviews to enter the academy, you were directly asked if you wished you were talented in another way."

"Really?"

"Yeah, me included. See for yourself." A screen slides in front of Mari's throne. It shows.. me? It looks like me. The same, depressing blue, almost gray hair that's a little wavy. My hood is off, so I can see the thin and tiny strand of my hair that sticks up. I'm frowning, like usual as my eyes are focused on a woman with dull magenta hair.

" _Now, Akuma-_ "

" _A-Akuun._ "

" _Sorry. Akuun, do you wish to give up your talent, for something else that could be completely different?_ "

" _Y-Yes.. I.. don't want to b-be like this..!_ " I've never heard desperation in my own voice. The video cut off and showed a few others.

"Then.. why don't we remember?"

"Great question. Michiko didn't want you guys to be ashamed of your talents, so your memories were turned around, so that you always remembered, and thought you always had the talent you were given."

"H..How do you know that..?"

"Look at Hotaru. Why was she born blind?"

"T-That could be entirely coincidental!"

"Well.. I'm not going to force you to believe anything." He gives us an upset smile, before pulling a revolver out of his uniform jacket. Due to my luck, I cower.

Before Mari can react, Satoru hands me the gun.

"Spin the cylinder, and shoot."

"Who?"

He smiles again. Everyone watches. Hotaru is silent. Kuroda is silent. Shoji is silent. Emiho is silent. Shimada is silent. Instead of firing at Satoru, I pull the trigger at Mari. To my surprise, a bullet immediately kills her.

"We.. we can leave now, right? It's okay now? R-Right? We c-can forgive Satoru?"

Satoru shakes his head.

"I'm the Mastermind. I can't be forgiven." Everyone protests. 

"WE CAN!"

"Satoru, please..!"

"It doesn't have to end like this!"

The revolver is ripped from me, but the gun clicks. Thanks for giving me luck, Ms. Yashino.

"Okay, let's play a game. Russian roulette. Does everyone know how to play?" We nod. "Shojiato, you go first."

Reluctantly, Shoji pulls the trigger. Click.

The gun is passed to Emiho. Click.

Shimada is up next. Click.

Hotaru struggles a little. Click.

Kuroda goes before me. Click.

It's my turn. I'm nervous. My luck is the worst, but I pull the trigger quickly after spinning. Please don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot- click. I'm safe.

"Oh, yeah, might I tell you all. I'm a robot. I'm not real." Satoru turns to me. "Tapping the back of my head on a specific area below my neck will give you a specific thing. A chip. Shoji might be able to do something with it, or maybe with his sister."

The gun fires, and pinkish blood splatters onto a bit of my shirt. I scream in horror, and see the remains of Satoru Kodaka, the Ultimate Freediver. Shoji carefully steps over to Satoru to try and not step onto his blood, and lightly turns him over, feeling behind his neck. I hear a slight whirr, and he's holding something that looks like a flash drive. Shimada breaks the silence.

"...Now what?"

"We go home. Exchange contacts. Find a way." I speak with confidence, and we leave what was left of our killing game and turn to what will become our future. It's silent. For some reason, I'm relieved. A small twinge of my heart and hope pulses..

The Headmaster accepts my application. He shows his deep sympathy for my horrible luck, even though I've heard his luck is better. I'm allowed to leave. I pull the hood of my jacket over my head and go. Can't believe I got into government-funded school, for someone whose future is so dark.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, and Rui is some big fat emo boy.


End file.
